Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1980) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Hindi films. She has also appeared in a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Sameera was born on 14 December 1980 in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh to a Telugu Reddy family. Her father Chinta Poli (C. P.) Reddy is a businessman, while her mother Nakshatra, referred to as Niki by her daughters and in the media, was a microbiologist and worked with an NGO. She has two siblings, Meghna Reddy, a former VJ and supermodel, and Sushma Reddy, a Bollywood actress and model, both elder to her. She did her schooling at Bombay Scottish School in Mahim, Mumbai and graduated from Sydenham College.
Sameera described herself as a “tomboy” and “the ugly duckling in the family”, while citing: “I was plump, had glasses and my glam quotient was rather low till I was 19.”
Reddy first appeared in ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas’s “Aur Aahista” music video in 1997, when she was a graduate. Sameera was meant to make her debut as an actress in Saravana Subbiah’s Tamil film, Citizen, during late 2000, but eventually did not feature. She caught the attention of Bollywood and was cast in a pivotal role in the 2002 Hindi film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya. In 2004, she appeared in Musafir opposite Anil Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi and Koena Mitra.
Reddy appeared in the Tamil film Vaaranam Aayiram directed by Gautham Menon, opposite Surya Sivakumar, which was a blockbuster. Reddy’s acting and modest portrayal of a confident and down-to-earth girl earned her rave reviews. She was signed for two films of Gautham Menon: Yohan Adhyayam Ondru and Dhruva Natchathiram. They were eventually dropped.
Reddy is a big fan of American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. She met Oprah during the former’s visit to India at the welcome party hosted by Parmeshwar Godrej. As the television celebrity was reportedly impressed by Sameera’s saree, she was presented a similar saree as a gift by the actress before she left India.
Reddy got married to Akshai Varde an entrepreneur on 21 January 2014. It was a traditional Maharashtrian wedding. They welcomed their son on 24 May 2015.
